The Biweekly Update

It seems like all people do is whine when they don't see a new blog entry everyday. Well, if you people would comment more often, maybe I would feel like people read it and I would be motivated to put important things like Champions League soccer and online poker on the backburner and would let everyone know what I'm up to ;o)....

So, my baby sister Faryn (she's now 18) and my mom came out this past weekend to visit. It was Faryn's first trip to a REAL big city (since SF is really a small big city) and was mom's second visit out here. They arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a red-eye flight on thursday night and proceeded to nap for a few hours after arriving. Fine by me, I had work to do!! Friday night was my introduction to them of New York's darker reputation when we went to see Rent! on Broadway. Let's see, the main characters are a group of friends, most of whom have AIDS, some of which are drug addicts, they deal with homeless people, and several of them are gay or lesbians. That outta be an eye-opener! Well, much to my satisfaction, they loved it! I didn't think Faryn liked it until she kept coming home at night and turning on the soundtrack in iTunes :) . Yea, I guess she liked it!

Saturday morning, after two hours of make-up application, blow-dryers, and showers, we headed downtown for brunch. In true style, we found a street and started walking around looking for something new. We came across a nice little French cafe in SoHo and had some authentic euro-breakfast. It was really splendid, full of flavor and, as usual, just enough food for a brunch. Excellent. We did the usual tourists things for the rest of the afternoon, as evidenced by the pictures we took:

http://justin.sixpak.org/pictures/05-Mom%20and%20Faryn's%20Visit/

Sorry, some of them need a bit of editing, like rotation. You'll have to wait a bit for that.

Saturday night, the festivities began all over, with dinner at a Spanish restaurant with Paul, Cathy, D, D's mom Roberta, and D's cousin Jeff. Good find, D, we had a great meal. I guess Faryn likes the fact that NYC doesn't card people, and she took advantage with the pitchers of Sangria that we had ordered for the table ;o). After the ridiculously sized and moderately priced meal, we continued with liberal New York evenings by attending a potty-mouthed comedy show at Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village. There was definitely some hilarious gigs going on there, for shizzle....

Sunday morning, we did the French brunch thing at one of my favorite spots, Rue de Crepes. Cheap, tasty brunch way over in Chelsea, near some excellent men's clothing stores (ahem!). I dig those shops, but there's never anything I can afford. So, we headed to Broadway and did some shopping at more realisticly priced stores. You know, the ones where the jeans are only $150 rather than $250. No jeans were purchased, but I did hook myself up with a couple $10 shirts. I almost pulled the trigger on the Zara shoes, but I just couldn't rationalize spending so much money on something that might not match my wardrobe. But I might be back....Mom and Faryn found some good deals on items at H&M as well as some other girly stores. Faryn found an awesome Brooklyn sweatshirt at the hip-hop store, which is one of my favorites on the strip. That's where I shop for my bling and other urban-wear ;o).

Since it's late, a few more quick items. I went to the orthodonist's today for a consultation. It's never a good sign when he starts by saying "I don't want you to get a complex over this, but...." . Yea, I know, I'm an orally genetic mutant with every possible problem. Thanks for validating this once again. I had hoped that somehow my teeth had straightened out, my cross-bite had gone away, my lower jaw moved forward, my upper pallet had spread, and I learned how to use my tongue properly to speak and swallow in the past year and half. Damn! Guess I'll have to wait a few more years before those things fix themselves.

I got a busy couple of weeks ahead of me, so we'll see how the blogging goes. I head off to the fresh snow of California tomorrow night for a weekend of skiing and liver-damaging recreational activities. Next week, the Peruvians arrive for three weeks of intimate living conditions and fun in the sun....I mean freezing cold. Should be a good time, I hope they don't get sick of me and kick me out of my own apartment ;o).

Peace out. Go Liverpool (in Champion's League, you know!).

The J. Riley